England star George Ford prepared for tough battle against Samoa

England have won all seven of their previous meetings with Samoa by an average margin of 20 points.

The last encounter - a 28-9 win for the Red Rose three years ago - was a typical bruising encounter against the passionate Pacific Islanders.

Fly-half Ford is expecting a further barrage and said: “I made my first start against Samoa and got done a couple of times then.

“Touch wood, I’ve never been in a car crash but I can imagine it’s as close to one as you can come.

“Our skills have got to be on the money - our catch-pass stuff - because if not they’ll just come for you, flying off the line and wanting to hurt you.

“We’ve got to be sharp in terms of decision-making and make sure we’re not predictable so that they can see a play a mile away and afford to fly out of the line and hit someone. They energise themselves by making big hits and winning collisions.”

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup host stadiums

THESE 13 stadiums will host matches at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

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Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne (Australia) - 30,050

“Touch wood, I’ve never been in a car crash but I can imagine it’s as close to one as you can come.”

George Ford

With Dylan Hartley benched, Ford will co-captain the side along with Chris Robshaw in a novel move by coach Eddie Jones for the final autumn Test.

Ford added: “In the changing rooms before games Dylan always asks two or three lads to speak up and give us our focus for the game, whether that is attack or defence, so that should be the same.

“Eddie wants me to look more at the attack and the backs and Robbo the defence and the forwards.

“In terms of what we do for penalties I will keep having conversations with Chris.

“We will keep trying to make the best decision for the team and hopefully between Robbo and myself we can deal with the referee as well.”

For Robshaw, who captained the side for four years under Jones’s predecessor Stuart Lancaster, the leadership return is more a support job for the likes of rookies Alex Lozowski, Charlie Ewels and Sam Simmonds.

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Dylan Hartley has been dropped by Eddie Jones for the first time

He added: “A lot of guys have got an opportunity this week, guys who have been training hard for this opportunity for a long time.

“For myself and George it’s about helping those guys and making them feel confident and comfortable.”